We were approached
by the organisers of the Scottish Science Festivals to develop a torch
to celebrate the International Year of Light. The torch will travel all
over Scotland during the IYOL and will be passed, in the spirit of the
Olympic torch, from festival to festival during the year, linking the
festivals together and celebrating the life of James Clerk Maxwell; his
contribution to the theory of light and his experiments in colour vision.

Those who remember
1980's children's television will understand why Jamie (pictured above)
was the obvious choice to build a magic torch like this. Jamie is also
a Maxwell, although whether he has a connection to Clerk Maxwell, we are
unsure.

The torch is due to
make it's debut at a public lecture with music, celebrating the work of
James Clerk Maxwell, at Penicuik High School on Thursday 19th March. We
hope to be able to share its progress through the international year of
light, via our twitter feed.